Mila Prusak’s OT Goal Propels NA To WPIAL Playoff Win At Peters Township
Senior Mila Prusak‘s goal 1:10 into overtime propelled North Allegheny to a 12-11 sudden victory at Peters Township on Monday night in the opening round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. Prusak’s heroic performance included four goals, four caused turnovers and two ground balls as the IUP commit earned Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors. Prusak now has 27 goals on the season.
The sudden victory was North Allegheny’s first-ever overtime playoff win in program history. It was also the first OT win for the Tigers since a 13-12 triumph over Canon-McMillan on April 25, 2018.
In the early going, the eighth-seeded Indians jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the ninth-seeded Tigers on three goals by sophomore Emma Kail, the third of which coming with 13:21 left in the first half. Kail finished with four goals on the night for the Indians.
Following a timeout by head coach Courtney Killian, North Allegheny raised the intensity level and scored seven straight goals to take an 8-3 lead by the early stages of the second half. Included in the NA run were three goals by junior Isla Abrams, two goals by senior Leigh Failla, one marker by Avery Anderson and one tally by Prusak. Both Abrams and Failla finished with hat tricks for the Tigers. Abrams has 27 goals on the year and Failla boasts a team-best 44.
With North Allegheny holding a five-goal lead with 23:14 remaining in the second half, Peters Township cut the deficit to 8-4 on a goal by Addison Bondi. However, the Tigers answered right back with Prusak’s third goal of the night to increase the NA lead to 9-4 with 15:57 left to play.
To their credit, the host Indians fought back with four consecutive goals to trim the NA lead to 9-8 with 9:33 remaining in the second half. Undaunted, the Tigers once again responded with back-to-back goals from Failla and freshman Reagan Riordan for an 11-8 advantage with 5:10 on the clock.
Spurred on by four second half goals and numerous draw controls by Saint Francis University (PA) commit, Lani Filoon, Peters Township knotted the score at 11-11. The game-tying marker came from Filoon with just 1:30 remaining in regulation. The Indians had a chance to take the lead in the final minute but a stellar save by junior Izzie Trunzo with 43 seconds remaining denied PT the potential game-winning tally. Trunzo made nine saves on the night.
Heading to overtime, the opening draw of the extra session proved pivotal and Abrams won the draw which ultimately set up the game-winning marker. Following the draw control, the Tigers patiently ran their offense and Anderson delivered a crisp pass in front of the Peters Township net to Prusak, who fired a shot past Indians goalie Sophia Manzari to lift North Allegheny to a 12-11 victory.
With the win, North Allegheny evens its record to 9-9 on the season, while Peters Township’s season ends with a 7-10 record. The Tigers will visit top-seeded Pine-Richland on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast live by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
Girls Lacrosse Summary vs. Peters Township, 5-15-23
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY HALVES | 1 | 2 | OT | FINAL |
| North Allegheny | 6 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Peters Township | 3 | 8 | 0 | 11 |